Timbers News - The Rift Continues and Paul Conway Honored

Over the past few years, the USL-1 has had franchise issues that have affected the entire league in terms of scheduling and travel. In 2007, the Virginia Beach Mariners folded just before the season started, giving the Portland Timbers five matches against the expansion California Victory. In 2008 and 2009, the Miami FC Blues have faced ticket deadlines imposed by ownership just before the season to improve on their lagging attendance, but each time the team and city have done just enough to keep things going. At least this year, the offseason league drama is starting early, but the framework of the USL could be dramatically changed by events this week.

The rumored teams in the TOA (Team Owners Association) are Montreal, Vancouver, Minnesota, Miami, and Carolina, all formerly with USL-1, and three other ownership groups from Atlanta, Tampa and St. Louis. However, the three teams have history with soccer: Atlanta’s USL-1 team suspended operations after the 2008 season, Tampa had been awarded a USL franchise for 2010 and they were a long-standing member of the NASL, and St. Louis has been trying to gain a franchise in either MLS or USL for many years.

This entire mess can’t be good for the Timbers, as they try to figure out planning for their 2010 season before the jump to MLS in 2011. Based on this rift, the closest team still affiliated with USL would be Austin, with other opponents in Charleston, Cleveland, Rochester, Puerto Rico, and New York, travel and scheduling for Portland could get interesting. FIFA, the soccer world’s governing body, also requires leagues to have eight member teams, and both leagues right now don’t seem to have enough teams to get FIFA accreditation. It’s also unclear what each league is willing to do for a team that is only joining for one season before hopping up to the MLS.

In my opinion, it’s great to see such passion and determination to make soccer successful in the United States from a wide group of people. However, the disagreement here is simply about money, marketing, and control, and both sides feel their ideas are better than the other side. The TOA want more control over their teams and a better marketing effort, which is something the USL could have done better over the years. The USL does have history and a well-developed network of teams all over the country on their side, and they’ve been very conservative in terms of franchise growth and costs, which have helped keep them financially viable.

This entire situation is a game of chicken, and I’m not sure which side will blink first in this dispute. While I originally thought this could be worked out in a compromise deal, it’s apparent that both sides are entrenching for a battle, and the only group that loses in this situation is soccer fans. They want to see their teams play on the field, not in the press or in the boardroom. My hope is that cooler heads prevail in this dispute and a compromise is reached in time for the 2010 season.

In much more happier news, former Timber player Paul Conway was named to the USL Hall of Fame in November. Conway played for the Timbers during the 2005 season, but he had a long resume of success playing for the Charleston Battery before coming to the Rose City to join his father, an assistant coach under former coach Bobby Howe. I had a chance to meet Paul after a match during the 2005 season, and he raved about playing in Portland in front of the fans, although he had struggles that season with injuries and inconsistent minutes. It’s great to see former Timbers earn such a prestigious honor, and congratulations to Paul for a great accomplished career!